Gray: The Next Generation
by YearoftheRat
Summary: Harry's peaceful life is crushed by a new threat in the form of an American dark lord called "Gray". It's personal from the very beginning, but once the kids are involved, there's no going back.
1. The Problem With Gray

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter series. All I own is the idea and the made up characters. :)**

FOUR YEARS AGO

July 17th, 2018

11:24 PM

"It's wonderful that your mother invited the kids over."

"Mm…she's always loved children, that one."

Harry gave a low chuckle and captured Ginny's mouth with his own. One hand was behind her neck, and the other was resting on her back, pulling her closer. Just as things began to heat up, a noise made both of them jump. Harry and Ginny looked toward the kitchen's small window to see a tawny owl standing on the ledge outside. Harry moved toward it swiftly and opened the window to let the owl hop in. He untied the scroll attached to the owl's leg and unrolled it, his brow furrowed.

_To Harry Potter,_

_I'm terribly sorry to have to contact you in this way; I would have preferred a quicker form of contact, but unfortunately, such a thing is impossible for us._

_To get to the long and short of it, we need your help. A man known as "Gray" has taken over the United States. I know, you probably don't believe me, but I have been trying to contact you for months now with no luck. Every owl I've sent out has been intercepted by our Ministry's people. Hopefully, you get this one. You understand corruption within the government better than most, but this goes far beyond corruption. Gray himself is not in charge, but one of his most powerful, charismatic, and cruel followers is._

_When I say that he has taken over the United States, I mean it. He has complete and utter control over nearly every aspect of our lives. All of you, in your country and Ministry, know nothing whatsoever of this takeover. This secrecy and subtlety Gray used when gaining control was all part of his plan. Regretfully, we didn't catch it until it was too late. Just as in the case of Voldemort, we have been forced to create a rebellious society to undermine Gray's system. So far we have not been openly detected, but our resources are being shut down too quickly; many of our people are considering relocating to Britain. Even though many are in the process of doing this, too many don't want to leave their country, and I don't blame them._

_You are the only one we feel we can trust because you've been through almost the exact same thing. We are very wary of governments right now, and your Order of the Phoenix are the only ones we trust._

_I know this is short notice, but I would very much appreciate it if the Order of the Phoenix, or some of its members were to meet with some of the members of our Lyon Society. Date, time, and place are only accessible to you, Harry. If you touch the back of this letter, they will show themselves._

_Please consider this. If you are skeptical, please meet with us and we will explain everything._

_Sincerely yours,_

_The Lyon Society_

Harry quickly flipped the letter over and ran his hand across the back of the parchment. Letters and numbers began to immediately take shape.

_July 21__st__ 2018_

_9:00 PM_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Harry took a deep breath and handed the letter to Ginny without a word.

"Well…" she said after reading it through. "I don't see the harm in meeting with this Lyon Society. If they wanted something other than a meeting, they wouldn't have picked Hogwarts. They would have picked the Leaky Cauldron or the Hog's Head."

Harry nodded. "I'd better start sending out letters to members of the Order. Kingsley, your mum and dad," Harry said, ticking off names on his fingers, "Bill and Fleur, Charlie, George and Angelina, Percy, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid, Neville, Luna, Teddy, too, I suppose…We'll talk to Ron and Hermione in the morning. Get their take on this."

Ginny nodded, putting a hand over Harry's. "We're doing a good thing, Harry."

"I know."

&&&

"The only person who can't make it is Charlie. Everyone else is going to be there."

"Harry. I know. I read Charlie's letter too. Just calm down."

"I am calm, Gin," Harry said rather irritably. "I just…is it bad that I hope this is just a prank of some sort? Is that wrong of me?"

"Of course not, Harry. You've been so selfless your whole life. It's not bad to want peace. It's not wrong that you want to be selfish for once," Ginny reassured him, rubbing his back.

Harry took a deep breath. "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am, Harry. I'm your wife. I'm always right," said Ginny, kissing him on the cheek.

Harry checked his watch. "Looks like it's that time. Let's go."

&&&

When Harry and Ginny arrived, quite a few Order members were already in the Great Hall. Hagrid was waiting for the Lyon Society at the gates. Everyone in the hall looked apprehensive and anxious. Professor McGonagall looked paler than usual, her lips set in a thin line. Professor Flitwick was talking to Arthur, who had come without Molly, as she had volunteered to watch the children. Bill and Fleur looked to be in deep conversation with one another. Percy was talking to Professor McGonagall in his rather pompous manner. Teddy smiled at Harry and Ginny as the two of them walked up. He gave Ginny a hug and shook Harry's hand. "Thanks for inviting me, Harry."

"You're out of school. Just thought you'd want to be a part of something like this," Harry said with a small grin.

Teddy ran a hand through his bright blue hair, grinning back at Harry.

"Harry," said a deep, soothing voice.

"Kingsley," Harry said, taking the large hand held out to him.

"You believe this letter to be legitimate?" Kingsley asked with no accusation in his voice.

"Yeah, I do. Unfortunately," Harry said with a chuckle. Kingsley nodded, smiling.

Neville was the next to arrive. He looked as though he had just been in a garden; there was a bit of dirt smudged on his forehead. Next to arrive were George and Angelina, bickering amiably as always. Luna was the next to walk in, looking as dreamy and lost as she always did. Last to arrive of the Order members who were coming were Ron and Hermione. They arrived at five to nine, Hermione looking supremely annoyed and Ron wearing his jacket inside out and looking thoroughly harassed. Ron sat down beside Harry and Hermione sat down beside Ginny. Both women started chatting.

"She's going to be the death of me, Hermione is," Ron said in a low voice. "Forget the fact that I'm an Auror. I can see it now: Leading Causes of Death: Heart Disease, Cancer, living with Hermione. And not in that order, mind you," Ron finished darkly.

"Er, mate. Your jacket's on backwards."

"Oh, bloody hell. Course it is." Ron struggled with his jacket for a few minutes before finally wrestling it into submission.

After a few minutes, Hagrid finally walked in, trailed by about fifteen people. Harry stood up, walking to the doors to greet them. One man in their group also came forward. Harry couldn't help feeling pity for the man as he walked forward. His hair was long and shaggy and dark stubble dotted his chin. His eyes were lined, though he didn't appear to be more than forty years old. He looked thin and weary.

"Harry Potter?" he said. "I'm Ben Lyon."

"Nice to meet you, Ben. Is this…everyone? In the Lyon Society?"

"No. We have maybe fifty members all together."

Harry nodded. "We aren't sure who else will join us, but this isn't everyone either."

Ben nodded. "I hope my letter was clear enough? I'm sorry for bringing you into this, but…the Order of the Phoenix were the only ones we could think of. The only ones who knew what we were going through."

"Yeah, we do. We understand completely." Harry paused. "So, where does the name Lyon Society come from? Is it named after you?"

"Not me, no. It's named after my father, Joseph Lyon. He was the United States' Minister of Magic before all of this started…he was killed by Gray's followers. Of course, that isn't how the papers portrayed it. They said it was a burglary gone bad. But we know better than that garbage."

"I'm very sorry about your father."

"Thank you."

"Please, everyone," Harry said to the Lyon Society, "please sit. Get acquainted with each other. This could be a long meeting."

Ben smiled gratefully, choosing a secluded spot along the table. Five people sat on the bench beside him. Harry sat across from Ben, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione on his left, McGonagall and Kingsley on his right.

The six Order members listened patiently as Ben told the story of Gray and how he had come to power. The five sitting with Ben occasionally made insertions and corrections. Ben told of the cruelty of Gray, how he had killed many without the public detecting or suspecting a thing. He told of how Gray's followers burned houses and kidnapped children of important government officials to gain leverage; he told of how that leverage turned into immense power. By the end of Ben's horrible tale, all six sitting across from him were convinced of Ben's honesty and intentions, all having been in that position before. The Order met together while the Lyon Society waited. The Order knew they couldn't let the Lyon Society fend for themselves.

"The Order of the Phoenix has decided to help you in any way we can, starting with helping those who want to move here. Those who wish to live here are advised to adopt new last names. We'll help them find homes here in wizard neighborhoods, such as Godric's Hollow," Harry paused, watching their faces relax a little. "I'm not sure how much we can help, but we will help in any way we can. Those of you who aren't moving here…Do you want to have your children move here anyway, so they're safer? We would put them in homes of people in the Order, people who can protect them. They would also be able to stay with people moving here of the Lyon Society, of course, as long as those families consented."

Many of the Lyon Society looked immensely relieved at these words. Harry guessed that most, if not all, of them had children.

"I would also like to propose that Kingsley and I go to the Ministry to seek help. I understand your hesitancy when dealing with governments, but none of your names need be mentioned to our Ministry. If they consent, you will be getting a lot more help than you asked for, and probably help that you will need nonetheless."

Ben stood. "Thank you all…so much. I can't…we can't express our gratitude to you. I think many will take you up on the offer of keeping their children and helping them settle here. And I don't see a problem with trying to get through to your Ministry. I hope for our sake you can convince them."

"So do I," said Harry, shaking Ben's hand again.

"I'll be in touch. Take care, Harry. Everyone."

"You too, Ben."

**Author's Note: First chapter of my first story. Go ahead, review. I dare you. :)**


	2. Stormy with a Chance of Wrath

PRESENT DAY

August 27th 2022

9:37 AM

"JAMES!" Lily shouted from upstairs.

"Oh, here we go," Harry sighed, his face hidden by the morning's _Daily Prophet_.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" James apologized, running down the stairs. His hands covered his face.

"THAT'S WHY YOU KNOCK, YOU IDIOT!" Lily screamed at her older brother.

"Again, James? You're nearly eighteen, and you still haven't figured out how to knock on a door?" Ginny said incredulously.

Al sat at the kitchen table beside his dad, chewing on a piece of toast contentedly. He looked up at James who looked horrified.

"I'm going to guess that this time, you didn't walk in on her behind the shower curtain, did you?" Al said reasonably.

"No," James moaned through his hands, "I opened the door and she was standing in front of the mirror and I didn't see anything! She hid behind her towel and I just turned around—It was horrible."

"How do you think she felt, James?" Ginny scolded.

"Absolutely annoyed that I have such a prat of an older brother," Lily said as she swept into the room. Her bright red hair was damp and unbrushed and her eyes were ablaze with annoyance. She grabbed a piece of toast and slathered jam onto it and swept back out of the room just as quickly.

"I think she felt absolutely annoyed that she has such a prat of an older brother," James said to his mother. Ginny rolled her eyes, but smiled just the same.

Ten minutes later, Lily arrived back in the kitchen, her long hair in a side braid.

"It took you ten minutes to do a braid?" James said skeptically.

"You know what, James? You're right. I think I'll do my hair differently and take another fifteen!" Lily snapped, her cheeks flushed.

"That's enough. Both of you," Harry added as his daughter opened her mouth to retort. He folded the newspaper and stood. "Are we ready to go now?"

"Yes, I think so," Ginny replied, grabbing the three separate school lists from the counter. And the five of them were off to Diagon Alley.

Harry, Ginny, James, Al, and Lily met up with Ron, Hermione, Hugo, and Rose at the Leaky Cauldron. This was an annual tradition for the two families, who had begun it once Rose had started school.

As they walked behind the Leaky Cauldron and Ron began tapping the bricks, James put his arm around Rose.

"So, are you ready for your O.W.L. year?"

"Yes. What's there to be worried about?" Rose said as they walked through the archway leading into Diagon Alley.

"Well, half of my year had miniature meltdowns by the time the O.W.L.s actually came round. One girl even started having fainting spells," James said nonchalantly.

"Your stories don't scare me, James. I'll be fine," Rose said brightly.

"Just don't get behind on homework this year, sweetheart. It will take ages for you to catch up if you do," Ron warned.

"Yes, your father and your uncle would know all about that," Hermione laughed. "They were behind on homework within the first few days."

"Hey, I had detention with that horrible Umbridge hag, remember?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, and I was practicing for the Quidditch team," Ron said indignantly.

"Both of which could have been avoided," Hermione said.

They had arrived at Gringotts.

"Ron and I will go in to get the money and we'll meet up with you at the bookstore," Harry said to the group at large. Once they had entered the monstrous white building, the kids all turned to their parents at once.

"Can I go to Uncle George's joke shop?" James and Hugo said at once.

"Me too?" said Lily at once.

"Yes. Watch them, James," Hermione said, and the three of them hurried off.

"You two going anywhere?" Ginny said to Rose and Al.

The two exchanged the briefest of glances before Al spoke. "Yeah, um, I need to go to the Apothecary to get some potion ingredients."

"I'll go with him," Rose piped up.

"Okay, we'll be at the bookstore," said Ginny as the two started in the direction of the Apothecary.

"Be careful!" Hermione called after them.

"Do you actually need to go to the Apothecary, or were you just making that up?" Rose asked.

"I actually do need something there, but the general idea was to get away from our parents," Albus replied casually.

"That's what I thought," Rose laughed appreciatively.

The two wandered around for a bit aimlessly.

"Is that Knockturn Alley over there?" Rose said mischievously.

"Um, yeah, I think so. Why?" Al said with suspicion.

"Just curious," Rose said innocently.

Suddenly an odd silence fell on the crowd bustling up and down the street. The people seemed to part and it soon became obvious why. A group of about ten men was walking purposefully down the crowded street. All were clothed in stormy gray robes and their hoods were pulled up so that their faces were not visible to onlookers. Rose grabbed Al's arm and whispered, "They're coming toward us. They're going into Knockturn Alley."

Al nodded slightly as the troupe sliced through the crowd. They were upon the two in a few seconds, and the group paused in front of them as Al and Rose pressed themselves against the brick. Rose watched the group with fearful eyes.

The man at the front of the group advanced toward Rose, snarling, "Where is it?"

"W—where's what?" she gasped in fear.

"Knockturn Alley, you stupid girl!" The man shouted.

"Hey!" Al growled, stepping in front of Rose protectively. "I dunno about you, but we around here tend to ask for things politely, and we certainly don't yell at people for no reason."

"Excuse me?" the man said incredulously.

"You heard me, pal," Al said threateningly.

The man stared at Al for a long while before throwing his head back and laughing. The others in the group also began to laugh. "The audacity! How impressive. Must be a Gryffindor, am I right?"

Al nodded tightly.

"Well, boy, thank you for the lesson in manners, but we don't use manners when dealing with people." Suddenly the man's hand was around Al's throat. He began to lift Al from the cobblestone with ease, being quite a bit larger than Al.

"Oh, stop, please," Rose whimpered tearfully.

The man slammed Al into the brick mercilessly, and Rose screamed.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" she cried.

The man let go, and Al fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. He grabbed Rose's wrist and pulled her closer to him. "Then tell me where Knockturn Alley is," the man breathed.

"It's right over there," Rose gasped, attempting to pull away. He slapped her with his free hand and pushed her hard as the group moved toward the alleyway.

Rose kneeled next to her cousin to check that he was okay. She looked up through her red hair and the man was sneering at her maliciously. Then he turned and walked away.


End file.
